Date published: 2007/08/16
The BBC says:
While parents may be increasingly worrying about childhood obesity, they must ensure their offspring eat enough fat, research from the US urges.
Concerns about their child becoming overweight means some parents put them on low-fat diets, but the Nutrition Journal study said this was misguided.
Researchers found children burned substantially more fat than adults relative to their calorie intake.
Youngsters needed that fat to grow and thrive, they argued.
Over a third of a child's energy intake should be made up of fat, the researchers at Pennsylvania State University said, a recommendation in line with UK requirements.
"Despite this, many parents and children restrict fat for health reasons," they said. "Sufficient fat must be included in the diet for children to support normal growth and development."
All pretty obvious stuff. But the media (including the BBC) has become hysterical the last few years about an alleged obesity "epidemic", and perhaps some parents have taken on board an unfortunate take-home message from this campaign of demonisation.
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